Wrapping-paper-feed device



Feb. 11, 1930. c w; ELDER 1 ,746,582

WRAPPING PAFER FEED DEVICE Filed Feb. 25, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 11, 930.

c. w. ELDER WRAPPING PAPER FEED DEE VICE Filed Feb. 25, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Char/sus- 1/ [/a e/ Cinema Patented Feb. 11, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT orr es.

CHARLES w. ELDER, or ROY, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF To man a BENNETT, or ROY, WASHINGTON WRAPPINGPAPER-FEED DEVICE Application filed February 25, 1926. Serial No. 90,526.

This invention relates to store service and especially to devices and apparatus for holding and feeding wrapping paper .tothe store clerk, whenqneeded, and has for its objects to provide such an apparatus which will perunit the wrapping paper tobe stored beneath the service counter, thus leaving the counter free for the display of goods to the purchaser; in which a plurality of widths or kinds of wrapping paper may be used and any of them fedto the clerk; which, when operated, will cause a short length of the desired wrapping paper toextendj up through a slot in the counter; which is spring mounted and will therefore give way when the paper is pulled upward, and will thus prevent the wrapping paper from becoming wrinkled ;'in which the feed rollers may be manually separated to permit the end of a new rollof paper to pass through the device and into position therein;

in which the pressure of the feed rollers may be controlled to suit the weight of the particular kind of paper; in whichmore than one sheet may be fed simultaneously up through the slot in the counter so that double wrapping of food or oily substances, as with paraffine paper and brown wrapping paper, may be done at one time thus saving both time and labor; in which the edges of the slot in the counter are sharp and thus facilitate the tearing off of the paper atthe desired point with the least ef't'ortgin which the resistance in the apparatus is suflicient to cause the paper tobe torn or cutoff at right angles to .35 the sheet without unrolling the paper as it is being torn; in which a plurality of sheets are fed through a single slot in the store counter.

A further object is to provide an apparatus which is cheap to make, easy to install and E to operate, effective in use, and rugged in con struction. I I attain these and other objects by the devices, mechanisms and arrangements illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

. 5 which i Fig. 1 is an elevation of the rear side of a store counter, showing my apparatus in position therein with three different rolls of paper fed therethrough, and showing the paper 5 from one: of the rolls fed up through the counter and ready to be pulled out therefrom to provide thedesired wrapping paper; Fig. 2 1s a section of the apparatus, showing the varlous sets of feed rollers; Fig. 3 is a bottom view of one pair of saidfeed rollers and Fig. 4 is an elevation of oneend of the apparatus showing theroller operating mechanism for onepair of said feed rollers. Similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughoutthe several views.

It will be seen that the store counter 1 is entirely free of the usual standards containing rolls of wrappingpaper of different widths, on itsupper or display surface, and that it is provided withthe usual service shelves 2 below it, said shelves being 1 shown as open tothe rear. Aportion 3 of the space below the counter 1 is free from thesaid shelves 2, andin this space 3 I mount the rolls of wrappingpaper, 4, 5 and 6, tobe usedby the sales clerk, on any convenient stands or shape section, is provided through the counter 1, said slot being lined with strips of metal 8,eachof which has a sharp cutting edge 9, on a level with the top of the counter 1, said cuttingedges 9 forming the sides of the opening or slot 7, through which the wrapping paper isto be pulled. The cutter, thus formed, is adapted to facilitate the tearing of the paper at the level of the counter whenthe paper is appropriately brought into cutting contact therewith. a

A frame, comprising a pair of plates 10, hangs down from the lower side of the counter 1, at each end of the slot 7, and carries, between the said plates 10, several pairs of'feed rollers, as hereinafter described, as well as suitable transverse plates 11 arranged and shaped to form guides for the paper fed by the several pairs of rollers and directing each sheet to the single slot 7. The drawings show a mechanism adapted to use three separate rolls of paper and there are therefore two such guide plates 11, each leading the sheet to the slot 7 in the counter.

A separate set of feed mechanism, whereby a short length of any one or more of the sheets may be unrolled and fed through the 1 1; 7, to extend above the counter 1, is pro vided for each of the rolls 4, 5 and 6 of paper but since they are similar in all particulars, except position, a description of one set alone will be understood to apply to each of the others.

The feed rollers are arranged in pairs and the pairs are grouped near the slot 7 and positioned to direct the pa er fed thereby towards the said slot 7. ne roller 12, of the pair, is fixedly mounted between the frame plates 10 and is free to rotate therein under the action of the hereinafter described actuating means, but the other feed roller 13 is mounted in slide blocks 14. Each block 1 1' is mounted in a slot in the frame plate 10 and is pressed towards the feed roller 12 by means of a spring 16, whose force is controlled by a screw 17. The two feed rollers 12 and 13 are each provided with deep meshing gears 18, at one end, whereby they are caused to turn together when the roller 12 is actuated, and whereby they together resist turning when not operated by the actuating means, as when the paper is being manually pulled out of the slot for use. The axis of the slot 15 is approximately at right angles to the center of the arc-of-contact of the sheet of paper 19 with the said spring mounted feed roller 13. Thus,xwhen the sheet 19 is manually pulled upward through the slot, after its end hasbeen fed therethrough by the feed rollers, against the resistance of the roll of paper 4, 5 or 6, as the case may be, the tension in the paper 19 will force the feed roller 13 away from the feed roller 12, against the action of the s rings 16.

1} rod 20 is Journaled in the two blocks 14, adjacent to the roller 13, and isprovided at 3 its inner end with an arm 21 and at its outer end with a hand lever 22, parallel with but longer than the said arm 21. Two pins 23 are fastened, in corresponding positions, on the two frame plates 10 and are positioned to i be engaged respectively by the said arm 21 and hand lever 22. Thus when the lever 22 is moved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 4, it rotates the rod 20 in its bearings in the blocks 14 until it and the arm 21 come in contact with the pins 23, as shown, and then further motion causes the pins 23 to act as fulcrums and the rod 20, with the blocks 14 and the roller 13, are retracted against the actions of the springs 16, thus opening up the space between the rollers 12 and 13 and permitting the end of anew sheet to be inserted therebetween.

Each of the rolls 4, 5 and 6 is provided with t a spring pressed rod, indicated at 24, en-

- the slot, the clerk may strain the edge of the sheet 19 against the cutting edge 9 and cause the sheet to tear along the said sharp edge without unwinding any more from the roll.

The feed rollers 12' and 13 turn stifily in the frame plates 10 and are actuated by a ratchet mechanism comprising a ratchet wheel 25 secured on the roller 12 and a ratchet lever 26 loosely journaled thereon. This lever 26 has a ratchet dog 27 mounted on it and adapted to engage and operate the wheel 25 and the roller 12, in one direction, whenever the lever 26 is actuated.

A bar 28 is mounted in horizontal position slightly below the counter 1, at any convenient point. As shown in the drawings the bar 28 is located to the right of the feed apparatus. The right-hand or far support 29 of the said bar 28 may beslid into any desired position before being attached to the lower side of the counter 1. An operating rod 30 is connected to the end of the above described ratchet lever 26 and extends towards the right and then turns up at right angles to form a handle 31 which-is loosely supported on the said bar 28 in such manner as to be free to slide thereon (Fig. 1). .A spring 32 is connected at its two ends to the handle 31 and the support 29, always drawing the rod 30 towards the right. The tension of the spring 32 will depend on the position of the support 29 on the bar 28. A buffer or cushion spring 33 may be mounted on the bar 28 on the left side of the handle 31.

Thus it will be seen that by pressing the vertical handle 31 of the rod 30 towards the left, against the action of the spring 32, the ratchet lever 26 is caused to actuate the feed rollers 12 and 13, throughv the gears 18, to draw the sheet 19 up from the roll of paper and extend it a short distance above the counter 1, as shown in Fig. 1. Also, that as soon as the rod 30 is released, the spring 32 draws it to the right and swings the ratchet lever 26 into position to take a new hold on the said ratchet mechanism. When a short length of the paper 19 is thus exposed above the counter 1, it may be grasped by the clerk and pulled upward, thus unwinding the roll 4, 5 or 6 from which it comes. However, if the roller 13 were not spring mounted, as above described, the eifect of pulling on the sheet 19 would be to cause the rollers 12 and 13 to rotate, and thus cause the paper to become wrinkled or creased, but being spring mounted, the roller 13 moves away from the roller 12 and permits the paper to slide thereon, under which conditions the paper 19 does not wrinkle or crease, especially if the rollers 12 and 13 do not rotate.

In practice I prefer to make the rollers 12 and 13 of wood and to cover them with a felt or other cloth casing, suitably cemented or otherwise secured thereon.

Having therefore described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a wrapping paper feed device, the

combination with a frame having two parallel complementary parts; a fixed feed roller rotatably mounted in said frame between the parts; sliding blocks mounted in said frame and movable in a direction substantially radial to said fixed feed roller; springs actuating said blocks; a second :Eeed roller rotatably mounted in said blocks and pressed towards the first feedroller by said springs; a rod mounted in said blocks adjacent said second feed roller; parallel arms extending from the ends of said rod; and complementary pins in said two frame parts, whereby when one'arm is actuated to press against its complementary pin, the other arm is similarly moved, and the pins become fulcrums whereby the blocks are moved against the action of said springs and the two feed rollers are separated thereby permitting the insertion of the end of a strip of paper therebetween.

2. In a paper dispensing device the combination of a pairof feed rolls normally in frictional engagement with each other, one of said feed rolls having yieldable mountings, a paper delivery table through which paper may be fed by said feed rolls, guides for directing the fed paper through said table, a cutting edge where said paper emerges from said table said cutting edge lying in a plane passing between said i'eed rolls normal to a plane including their axes, a support for a a paper supply roll, the cutting edge, feed rolls and support being so constructed and arranged that by pulling the web of paper past said cutting edge the feed rolls will be separated and permit a relatively free passage of the web between said rolls.

CHARLES W. ELDER. 

